dude looks like a lady
by dorunasch
Summary: "Would you like to have your fortunes told?" {on-going / for Shaaku.}
1. prologue

Note: Shaaku mentioned Dangershipping bodyswap and I was like "frick ye" and so this happened.

* * *

**dude looks like a lady  
**_prologue_

"Would you like to have your fortunes told?" A young lady's voice crooned. The lady is dressed in all black, a cloak covering her from head to foot. Her long, sharp nails were coated in dark purple nail polish, and her wrists were covered in chains and bracelets. A crystal ball is neatly placed in front of her, on a table covered in a long, black cloth. Students of Heartland Academy passed by her stall without even giving her a glance, some of them even whispered amongst themselves, _'Hey, a fortune teller, isn't that just a hoax?'_, _'Don't look at her, she's weird.'_ and she pretends not to hear them because she has no time for non-believers.

Magic is very real. These mortals don't trust her, they don't deserve her attention. Only the worthy are allowed to approach her, only the—

"Hey look, Kotori! There's a fortune teller here!" And her thoughts halt because there's a good approaching her. There's a kid whose aura is strong and she feels that she's found a mortal worthy of her attention, and she feels a strong magical power from him. And she's curious, wants to know what power he has. She feels drawn to him and waits for him to enter her territory, where she is more powerful, where she can analyze him, where she can—

"Yuuma! We have no time for fortune telling!"

And the boy, Yuuma, stops. He stops just before he can enter her territory, and she almost curses. Only a few more steps and the boy would have been in her grasp. His power could have been hers. She could have sucked his life force out, if she wanted to.

He looks back at his friend and laughs apologetically, "Sorry, Kotori!" And rushes back to her side, and she – that girl – she has the gall to berate him. "You know that fortune tellers are fake, right? They're not true at all."

"Ahaha, really?" He asks.

As they walk farther, she could steal hear their conversation, "Of course they are, idiot! They're going to steal your money just to give you a fake fortune!"

She feels anger and hatred for this girl – Kotori, was it? – because she kept Yuuma and his power away from her. This girl deserves a curse to be placed upon her.

Her hazel eyes catch a glimpse of a figure flying over Yuuma. A figure covered in an ethereal light, and she rubs her eyes carefully, and looks again. The figure is gone. Suddenly, Yuuma yelps, shouting, "Astral don't do that!" And then Kotori laughs. Leaving the girl seated there, in her stall. Still looking at the place where she she believes she saw someone.

Was that figure just a figment of her imagination?

* * *

A girl approaches her at the time of sunset.

No one else has garnered her attention, and she's still thinking of that Yuuma boy when suddenly she feels another pull. She feels power; this one was colder… and older. Shrouded in mystery. She feels it in the girl approaching her. Long, blue hair, ruby eyes. Was this girl blessed by the goddess of magic as well?

"Isn't it too hot to be sitting outside wearing that?" The girl asks.

And she's mystified because nothing happens. The girl doesn't faint, she doesn't even look weak, yet she's _standing in her territory_. This girl's powers were strong. Stronger than hers.

She wanted those powers as well.

"Rio," a voice laced with impatience, "we have no time for petty things like this. Let's go." And her eyes land on a boy that looks almost like the girl – Rio was her name – she makes a connection that they must be twins. She can sense power in him too. But his is… weaker. Subdued. She squints at the twins, curiosity peaking.

"Won't you stay for a while and have your fortune told?" She asked in a voice she knew would draw people to her.

"No thanks. We don't need any cheap tricks today." And he left without another word.

"Hey, Ryouga! Wait up!"

What a shame. She could tell that the boy was going to have a bad future soon enough. He was going to have to make a decision that would change his life forever. If only he had stayed longer, she could've warned him.

But his impatience wasted his chance to find out.

* * *

A third person arrives, and this one is big. He wears the standard uniform for sophomores, but he has wings on his back and it's weird, but he's powerful but she feels sick. It was almost like he was the one sucking all her power instead of the other way around.

His voice rumbles asking her if she wanted power, and of course she does. She wants to be the most powerful person on Earth, but before she could tell him that, he speaks again in that rumbling voice, telling her to swear her loyalty. He holds a card above her head and she stares at it, and she can't read the words because it's… it's written in some sort of language and her head aches but suddenly everything is clear and she can read the words and she opens her mouth—

"All for the sake of the Barian World." She says.

The man – Gilag, he calls himself – tells her that she must get rid off Tsukumo Yuuma and his friends.

She'll do it.

For power.

For glory.

For the Barian World.

She knows what she has to do.

Two people cross her mind. The boy named Ryouga, and the girl named Kotori.

* * *

End note: Haha. Wow. I swear this was supposed to be a one-shot. What what what


	2. kotori

Note: Sorry it took so long, Shaaku!

* * *

**dude looks like a lady  
**_chapter 1: kotori_

That night, Kotori had weird dreams.

In her dream, she was standing in the middle of two paths. But the strange thing was, one of the paths had steel bars blocking the path. Beyond those bars, she felt a familiar warmth, it was like the warmth of her home. She tried to see if she could climb over the bars, but to her dismay – this was a dream after all – the bars were like magic, and they kept rising and rising until she knew it was impossible for her to ever go over that path. She slid down the bars, thankful that it didn't leave a burning feeling in her hands.

She looked skeptically at the other path. There was nothing blocking her way, nor was there any other obstacle, at least, as she could see. But there was something about that path that didn't sit well with her. It felt too… too cold, too dark…? She couldn't explain it. But, she had no other choice, did she? It was the only path open.

She looked at the path that was barricaded. Something was telling her that she _had_ to go there. _That_ was that she had to go to, _that_ was the path she felt she was familiar with. _Calm down, Kotori._ She told herself. _This is just a dream, after all. Don't worry about it so much. _And so she began to walk the open path, telling herself along the way that it was a dream, and that nothing was going to happen to her, there's absolutely nothing to worry about.

But something was telling her that she should worry about it.

She felt that something was going to happen to her, now that she made this decision. She stopped her trek to gather her thoughts, looking back at the path that she came from.

And she swears all the blood drained from her face.

What she expected to be a path was pure darkness. Or something that looked like darkness at least. She could vaguely make out the shapes of crystal spires and something else… a throne? But suddenly that vision faded away as well, and the previous path she had taken was swallowed by darkness.

She gulped, "This is all just a dream. A very weird dream. Nothing's wrong. Nothing's wrong." And she kept telling those words to herself, like a mantra. And she found that the sound of her own voice calmed her down. Because she was still alive, nothing was wrong, nothing had chased her. She was okay, she was definitely—

Laughter.

And she almost yelled. The laughter surrounded her, it was loud, it was mocking. She didn't know where it was coming from, it came from nowhere, it came from everywhere. She was beginning to panic, because she was alone, god. She was alone and she didn't know where to go, and—

And she remembers this is a dream, and that she's going to wake up. She's going to wake up and she's going to go through the day like normal. She's going to be with her friends and they're going to eat lunch together, and—

_"Are you really sure about that, Kotori?"_

She doesn't know whose voice that is or why they know her name. She tries to pinch herself awake, but it's not working. It's like… it's like her body wasn't responding to her wishes at all!

And it takes all her willpower not to panic right there. It must be a sleep disorder, that's all. She'll definitely wake up! She has to! The laughter gets louder and louder and it's deafening and she doesn't know why she can't wake up.

So, she does the only thing she knows she can do. There's only one path – forward – and so she runs. She runs without looking back, she ignores the voices, the laughter, taunting her, telling her, _"That's right, Kotori. Run. Run! You have nowhere left but forward! That's the only way!"_ And more laughter.

She opens her mouth, tries to tell the voice to shut up, but the only thing that escapes her lips is a whimper.

She continues to run, run, run.

Until she sees it.

She sees a light, and it's bright and the voice stops, and the laughter fades away, and this must be her wake-up call.

Her legs kick faster, and she chases the light, as if it were to leave if she didn't run fast enough.

_"… a… ga… ouga!"_

She hears a voice, familiar this time, and she almost cries in joy because this dream was just too weird and she wishes she never has to go through this again—

_"… ni… Ani!"_

* * *

Thank God. She's awake, _awake,_ **awake**. She opens her eyes.

She doesn't recognize where she is. The ceiling is definitely not the ceiling of her room. Did something happen to her?

"Oh good, you're awake."

And she looks beside her and sees Kamishiro Rio.

_"Rio-san…"_ She tries to say, but it comes out as such a soft whisper, and she almost doesn't hear her voice. And, what is going on? Did she pass out somewhere? Why was Rio-san there? Where was she?

"You were making a lot of noise there. That's the first time a nightmare's affected you that much. Are you sure you're alright… Ryouga?"

_Ryouga…?_

**_Ryouga?!_**

Has Rio-san forgotten who she was now? She wasn't Shark. She was obviously Kotori! She was—

"What are you talking about, Ri—" And then she stops. She stops because, whose voice was that?! That was definitely not her voice. No, no. No. It wasn't hers.

It was a guy's voice. She was not a guy. She was…

"If you're gonna sit there all day, we're gonna be late, idiot."

Kotori gulped, and then looked down at her hands. Sure enough. They weren't hers.

She pulled away the bed sheets covering her body, and sure enough, the body wasn't hers.

"Ryouga! Will you just get out of bed already? Stop pretending that you're si—"

And Kotori turns to face her, and, "Rio-san!" She shouts, and it's not her voice. It's definitely not hers. It's Shark's. It's Shark's voice. She's speaking with Shark's voice. She's in Shark's body. And… _oh my god._

**Silence.**

"Excuse me?" Rio raises an eyebrow, "Rio-san? Are you mocking me now, Ryouga?"

And she settles to shaking her head, "No. No, no, no. Rio-san, it's me! Kotori!"

Rio crosses her arms, "Ryouga, did you hit your head on something? Please stop acting like a child, and just get out of bed. It's too early for you to be pissing me off."

And Kotori sighs because how is she going to explain it to Rio-san that she really is Mizuki Kotori? Come to think of it, Rio-san is already dressed up for school.

_Dressed up… for school._

It takes a long time to sink in. But when it does, she realizes that she's in Shark's body, and right now, Shark's in his pajamas. And she has to… oh no.

Her face, goes red. Beet red. And Rio-san taps her foot on the floor, "We're wasting **time**, Ryouga."

_How am I going to explain it to her?!_

* * *

End note: (laughter) Oh man, oh man, oh man. The next chapter is obviously from Ryouga's perspective. I'll have it up soon. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. u v u


	3. ryouga

**Note:** I'm sorry for the long wait! q n q

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**dude looks like a lady  
**_chapter 2: ryouga_

He was used to having weird dreams, but this? This was honestly a first for him.

He wouldn't call it a nightmare because nothing horrible was happening. He couldn't actually explain what was happening, though.

First, he had a feeling like he was falling. And then, suddenly he was standing.

He seemed to be in a room.

It was very dark inside, and it seemed to be a spacious room. He had been walking straight for minutes _(minutes!)_ and he couldn't feel anything like a wall or anything else that would lead to the end of the room.

It just seemed to go on and on.

"Hey!" He shouted, but to his surprise, he couldn't hear his own voice. He tried shouting again, but he couldn't hear anything at all. He brought a hand to his ears and checked if there was anything that blocking it, there was nothing. He tried again, but he really couldn't hear anything. But he knew he was shouting, because his throat was starting to get irritated. What on Earth was happening?

_"It won't do you any good to shout, Ryouga."_ A disembodied voice said, followed by a chuckle.

_"Who's there?"_ He asks, he isn't sure if the owner of the voice hears him. But he doesn't have time to wonder when the voice replies, _"It doesn't matter who I am, or where I am. What matters is where **you** are, Kamishiro Ryouga."_

_Where is this voice coming from? _He thinks to himself.

_"Ah, ah, ah," _The voice starts again,_ "I come from everywhere, and at the same time, nowhere. I am like magic, Ryouga. I am the voice in your head, and the voice all around you."_

_Great, it can read my mind as well._

He clicks his tongue, or at least he thinks he does, and waits for the voice to come again.

It doesn't for a long time until he exhales, _"What, is that all you have to say?"_ He mutters.

_"Such a rude person, this one."_ The voice almost sounds amused, _"Alright, since you want to hear so much, then here, I'll make you hear everything. And I do mean everything."_

**And suddenly, he could hear.** He almost wishes that he couldn't. Because he could hear everything. He could hear familiar voices, the roaring of monsters, the shouts of defeat, voices of brainwashed opponents, the countless duels he's had. It was so loud that he could feel a headache coming.

It was like someone recorded his duels and decided to play them all at the same time, in a high volume.

"What the heck is this?" He groans, as he covers his ears, but it can only muffle so little of the noise invading his ears.

_"You tell me."_ The voice answers.

"What?"

_"Never mind."_ He hears a snap somewhere, and suddenly it's quiet once more. He clears his throat, slightly relieved that he can still hear his voice.

"What was that for?"

The laughter comes back, _"You are indeed a very interesting person, Kamishiro Ryouga."_

"It's like I'm talking to an idiot," He mutters. But since the voice remained silent this time, he decided that he should continue walking, hopefully he would find something like a wall, even better if he found a door out of this place soon.

His wishes were granted when he saw not one, but two doors standing in front of him. One was a blue door with a brass doorknob; that was it. The other one was wooden, with an intricate pattern colored in gold engraved onto the door. He found it weird how totally different the two doors were. He tried to touch the space between the two doors, only to find that it was, once again, endless space. The two doors stood before him, but they had no doorways, no walls they were attached to. They were just there, as if afloat.

_"Make a choice, Ryouga. Although something tells me you won't need to choose, hm?"_ The voice chuckled once more. He really wanted to get out of this place soon, just to get the stupid voice out of his head.

He looked at the two doors before him. So he had to make a choice, huh? Well, if that was the case… he went to the blue door and opened it.

* * *

He opened his eyes to the noisy ringing of an alarm clock.

That shouldn't be weird, but it was. They never used alarm clocks. The last time Ryouga used his alarm clock was on the day of Asia Duelist Championship finals. Had Rio set his alarm clock while he was asleep? He doesn't think so, since she didn't like alarm clocks herself.

He sat up from the bed and rubbed his eyes. _Wait a second._

His alarm clock beeped, it did not ring.

He turned his head to his right, expecting to see his study table where most of his things were. He was not expecting to see a little picture frame with a photo of the "Numbers Club" hanging on the wall. In fact, he was not expecting to see cream colored walls as well.

Kamishiro Ryouga wasn't expecting to wake up in someone else's room.

"Where is this pla—" He was also not expecting **that**. _What was that?!_

He was also not expecting to hear a girl's voice when he spoke.

_What the heck is going on?_

He looks down, and he sees that he's wearing a – he feels the blood drain from his face – a nightgown of all things. The only thing he could think of was that someone was playing a trick on him. He was dreaming. He was expecting a nightmare and he finally got one. Yeah, that's it. He should still be asleep in his bed, in his room, and in his body. He definitely was not in someone's body, wearing their nightgown, and waking up in their room. He pinched his arm, only to find that he could feel the pain.

He was awake.

All this is true.

_Are you fucking kidding me?_

He stands up from the bed and looks for a mirror. He couldn't find one, though. There was a shelf at the left side of the room with bottles of hairspray and other beauty products that he always saw when he was in Rio's room. There was a television at the center of the room, a mini refrigerator just beside the television, and then the door to the room. At the other end of the room was a closet. There was one of Heartland City's standard female uniforms – a freshman's – hanging outside the closet.

He walked towards the closet, hoping there was a mirror inside.

He had an idea about whose body he was in, but he wanted to see for himself if… if his suspicions were right. He opened the closet, and found that yes, there was a mirror attached onto the back of one of the closet's doors.

He was right.

On the mirror, staring back at him, was Mizuki Kotori.

He sighed. _Okay._ How is he supposed to deal with this?

That would mean Kotori was in his body then, right?

He closed the closet doors and walked back to the bed, what was his next plan then? He'd have to go to school if he was going to meet with the others and talk—

_No._

If he had to talk to someone, it had to be just him, Kotori, and probably Rio.

With that decision, he had no other choice but to go to school then.

_Oh._

He looked at the uniform hanging on the closet again. He could feel his cheeks turning red.

_Oh shit._

Before he could think of how to go to Heartland Academy without having to wear the uniform, the door to Kotori's room opened. Then he was looking at the face of Kotori's mother.

She smiled at him, "Good morning, Kotori."

"G-good morning." He answered back.

"I'll be going to work now, okay? Ah, by the way, two of your friends came over. Why don't you get dressed and go down to meet them?" She waved at him and then closed the door once more.

_Hell no. Oh, hell no. Please don't let it be Yuuma or anyone else from their stupid club, please._

He stood up and, looking back at the uniform hanging by the closet one more time, he opened the door, and stepped outside, hoping that whoever it was didn't mind that he wasn't… _dressed up_ yet.

He went down the stairs, just in time to see Kotori's mother leave the house, and then see the two people waiting for him.

The first one smirked at him, "Oh. There you are, Ani." It was Rio. He sighed. He looked at the person beside his sister, and he… she nodded, "Good morning, Shark." And she was talking with his voice, and she was in his body, and _oh my god her face is red_, and it was a fact that he and Kotori switched bodies.

He sighed and then rubbed his temples, "This is all too weird."

* * *

End note: I'm really sorry for the wait! Ahhh ;v; It doesn't look as good as the previous chapter I'm so sorry.


End file.
